Coffee Breakfast

I was absolutely intending to post last night’s dinner today, but while the coffee maker was doing its thing this morning, I took a couple of minutes to sort through some clutter on the kitchen table. I came across a smoothie page from Good Housekeeping, July 2015. My friend Mary mentioned her morning routine of smoothies and coffee after she read yesterday’s post, and I found one that mingles the two. Unfortunately, most of the smoothies in the article are adapted from a GH cookbook, so there is no link with all 10 recipes on the same page. I’m putting a picture of the page here; you can search for individual recipes on their website.

Java Banana Smoothie

I brewed a strong mixture of Kirkland’s medium roast coffee with a flavored Kahlua and creme blend from a cute boutique in suburban Geneva, Illinois. While that coffee chilled (1/2 cup coffee with enough ice to equal 3/4 cup), I zapped a bag of frozen bananas for 10 seconds in the microwave, long enough to allow me to chip off the equivalent of 2 bananas. I was really tempted to use buttermilk (Woodman’s clearance, 50 cents a quart), but I opted for vanilla soy milk instead since I didn’t think anyone else would try this recipe with buttermilk. 3 tablespoons of brown sugar? Ridiculously excessive! I used (against my better judgment), 1 scant tablespoon of vanilla sugar from the Spice House (also in Geneva, IL, and other locations). The things I do for my readers! I did throw in a scoop of protein powder and didn’t use a whole cup of ice; I eyeballed between a half and three-quarters of a cup.

Verdict: ERMIGERD! Delicious! The soy milk set off the strength of the coffee, leaving just a hint of the bitterness that I love. The sugar content was still more than I needed, but I can see where non-coffee drinkers would need the sweetness. The texture was smooth and creamy, the banana flavor just slightly more prominent than I would have expected (I found myself searching for it, which wasn’t a bad thing). I hardly ever bother with ice in a smoothie because I usually don’t drink them quickly enough; I hate the separation that occurs when the ice starts to melt. But this concoction stayed pretty well blended. Mary’s peanut butter powder would not fight with the coffee or banana here, so she should put some bananas in the freezer and plan to make this one soon. I know I’ll be making it again! And if you wanted to add a shot of real Kahlua for an afternoon or happy hour treat, I wouldn’t tell anyone….